January 28, 2009
 
Malaysia bans chicken imports from China
 

Malaysia has banned chicken imports from China, where at least four people have been killed by the bird flu virus.
 
The ban, effective January 16, would only be lifted when the situation in China returned to ''normal'', according to Veterinary Services Department director-genral Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin.
 
There will not be supply shortage as all companies importing chicken from China have enough stock for three months, said Jamaluddin, adding that the department had permanently banned chicken imports from Thailand since last year due to the bird flu virus.
 
In addition, Jalamuddin said the Department plans to produce more chicken cuts than whole chickens in order to ensure stable supply. He said countries like Thailand, Brazil and the Netherlands were using the same approach.
 
However, Jalamuddin noted that the change in production could only be done with a MYR50 million funding (US$14 million).
 
China had reported a total of six cases of H5N1 virus this year. Malaysia currently imports 20,000 tonnes of chicken cuts per year from China, the EU and the US.